Far-Out Fun

Candice, the sister of Phineas and Ferb, is an empire officer in “Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars.”

On July 26, Disney Channel’s animated series Phineas and Ferb takes their audience to a galaxy far, far away. In the hour-long special “Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars,” the fate of the world falls into the stepbrothers’ hands. They team up with classic Star Wars characters to save the galaxy. The plot follows the original 1977 movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

Phineas and Ferb creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, also the voices of Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Major Monogram in the show, gave TFK a sneak-peak at “Phineas and Ferb:Star Wars.” Be sure to look out for Povenmire and Marsh in the episode. The two created animated characters of themselves!

TFK:

What is “Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars” all about?

DAN POVENMIRE:

It’s Phineas and Ferb as Luke Skywalker’s next-door neighbors. [Luke Skywalker is a main character from the Star Wars films]. We got this opportunity to do a crossover with the Star Wars Universe. We said: Star Wars is sacred. We’ll leave Star WarsEpisode IV: A New Hope exactly the way it is, but our story will take place in and around it.

TFK:

Why did you decide to do a crossover episode with Star Wars?

POVENMIRE:

We decided to do it literally the moment Disney bought Lucasfilm. [Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker George Lucas, who created the Star Wars movies].

JEFF MARSH:

Dan, being a quick artist, immediately drew the first drawing of Doofenshmirtz dressed as Darth Vader.

POVENMIRE:

Swampy [Jeff Marsh] and I were teenagers when Star Wars came out. The film was a big part of our formative years. I think I saw it 19 times in theaters that first summer.

I think they’re going to love it. We’ve shown this to really hardcore Star Wars fans, and they have loved it more than anybody. We haven’t touched the story that they love. There is so much humor that only they will get.

MARSH:

And we are those hardcore fans. We please ourselves.

TFK:

What can fans expect of Phineas and Ferb this time around?

POVENMIRE:

We’ve never seen Phineas and Ferb on opposite sides of an argument. They’re almost two halves of the same person. They’re so in sync with each other. This time, we have the opportunity to turn Ferb into a dark lord. The stepbrothers have a serious lightsaber duel that I think is going to blow kids’ minds because they’ve never seen them fight in any way.

TFK:

Dan, you are the voice of Dr. Doofenshmirtz, and Jeff, you are the voice of Major Monogram. What roles do these characters play in the episode?

MARSH:

[in Major Monogram’s voice] Monogram is not a complex human. He’s a one-dimensional guy, and still has the same job as boss of Perry the Platypus.

POVENMIRE:

[in Doofenshmirtz’s voice] Dr. Doofenshmirtz is evil, but he’s got a little competition because Darth Vader is really evil. So he’s trying to make himself more evil than Darth Vader.

TFK:

What’s it like to act as characters within the show that you created?

MARSH:

It’s gratifying to be, even in a very tiny, tiny way, some permanent piece of the Star Wars business. That just makes you giggle.